The pleasures of camping

The lure of camping knows no age barrier and is as old as man himself. From the children who pitch their home-made tent at the bottom of the garden to spend the night in the open, to organized family holidays using the facilities of fully-equipped camping sites, the object is the same — to get as close to nature as possible and to recapture some of the excitement and freedom of the early nomadic tribal life.

The modern tent as we know it — factory-made with extendable poles and steel pegs, cleverly packed so it can be erected in minutes — can claim an ancestry from the Stone Age itself. When those early hunters ventured outside their caves, they might have needed to march for days on end to stalk their quarry. If they could not find a cave to shelter in at nightfall, then they built their own temporary home of branches, covered with leaves or animal skins. Nomadic tribes of shepherds all over the world developed their own versions of the early tent. The Indians had their "tepees", the Mongols the "yurt".

Down the ages, the tent has proved the ideal way to provide temporary housing. Whole armies sheltered under canvas; explorers have pitched their tents from the Sahara to the Antarctic. Even today there is something adventurous about camping, whether you are hiking with your tent on your back, cycling, or going by car with the family.

Getting ready
The success of any camping holiday, even if it's only a week-end hike, depends on careful preparation. Where to go, what to take and what it will cost are the three main questions to sort out well in advance. First, decide on your route and the distance you plan to cover each day. This will vary with the terrain covered and with the age and fitness of those involved, but as a general guide it is perfectly possible to walk between 16 and 24km (10 to 15 miles) a day, cycle between 60 and 90km (about 40-60 miles), and drive 160-320km (100-200 miles). Make absolutely sure that there is a suitable camping site at the end of each day's journey.

Camping sites
The nicest way to camp is still to discover your own private site — the corner of a field (always with the owner's permission) a sheltered spot near a stream, a clearing in a wood. But these places are getting harder to find and if you are going to camp on your owp you must be both experienced and self-reliant.

Organized camping sites have much to offer. They are safe, with the added bonus of modern conveniences like hot showers, proper sanitation and sometimes even shops. The best are very good, but if you don't follow a camping guide you may find that you are staying somewhere noisy, primitive and not even attractively sited.

So the first thing to pack is a guide to the area you plan to tour. The Camping Club of Great Britain and Ireland publish a handbook filled with useful information, including a list of some 2,000 camping sites round the country. This includes the Club's own chain of over 60 sites, many of which are open only to Club members. The handbook is free to Club members, together with a comprehensive Ordnance Survey route-planning map, with all the sites in the handbook clearly marked.

Club members also get a free monthly magazine, G100 worth of free insurance on camping equipment and a foreign touring service which copes with bookings etc. If you are going abroad they also issue you with an International Camping Carnet, which on many continental sites serves instead of a passport and sometimes means you get cheaper camping rates.

The Camping Club runs a special youth scheme for anyone aged between 12 and 17; this includes training in camp craft to pass the Youth Camping Test. The scheme provides a full program of outdoor activities from April to September, and over Easter members have the chance to join young people from all over Europe at the International Youth Rally which is held in a different country each year.

Continental guides are available from the Club's bookshop, at their headquarters, 11 Lower Gros-venor Place, London SW1, as well as full details about membership.

Selecting your own site
If you decide to find your own private camping site, these points are all worth watching.

1 Avoid clay or hard ground; it will be hard to pitch the tent, and if it rains the water will not be absorbed by the ground, so you have a fair chance of getting wet.

2 Choose a spot where you are not likely to be bothered by insects or vermin — avoid swampy ground which guarantees hordes of midges or mosquitoes.

3 You will need water for cooking and washing, so look for a well, a clear spring or a clean stream if you have not brought your own. A supply of water purifying tablets is a useful item of baggage.

4 If you are going to cook, check local fire regulations and ask the permission of the owner of the land before you build a fire. If you intend to build a wood fire, make sure there is firewood about.

5 If you are camping in Britain, avoid pitching your tent under trees, you will find it damp and if it rains the drips from the branches will persist long after the rain has stopped.

6 Don't camp in a hollow or at the foot of a steep slope, unless there is a good dip providing drainage for rain water between your tent and the foot of the slope.

Before you set out
First of all inspect your tent for any possible damage and get it repaired. If you haven't used your tent for a long time, have it waterproofed. Most good camping shops will do this; alternatively, if the tent is not a large one, buy the water-proofing products and do the job your self.

Packing your kit
Unless you are going by car, when obviously you will have more room, remember that too much luggage is awkward to carry and makes you less mobile. Your rucksack or cycle panniers only have room for the essentials. Here is a rough checklist for campers; it divides naturally into six headings.
1 The tent — this includes the groundsheet, possibly a flysheet, poles, pegs and similar items.

2 Clothing and sleeping equipment — including sleeping bag, rain-proof clothing, gloves, sweaters or a duvet jacket, gym shoes, stout walking shoes, enough clean socks and underwear, jeans, shorts, a windcheater, bathing suit, and some form of head covering.

3 Cooking and eating equipment — first a stove running on bottled gas, paraffin or petrol, cooking utensils, light plates and cups, water bottle and mugs, bottle opener, pocket knife, corkscrew, a scouting axe, and matches.

4 Toilet goods — soap and flannel, razor, toothbrush, toothpaste, towel, comb, pocket mirror, nail scissors and file, first-aid kit, insect repellent, shoe brush and polish, sewing kit, cotton, safety pins.

5 Food — take enough food for one day and extra rations which are for emergency only. Suitable things are glucose tablets, dextrosol, Kendal mint cake, Oxo cubes, special chocolate and dried fruit.

6 Equipment — this must include a map covering the entire area you are touring, a compass, a whistle and a hand lamp which could be useful in an emergency, spare batteries, a watch, writing materials, money and a cheque book.

Special precautions
If you are hiking in areas of moorland or high hills without houses or shelter within easy reach, and where the weather is harsh and changeable, you must wear correct clothing to minimize the dangers of exposure. Wear good boots, not shoes, and two pairs of woolen socks; full length trousers — not shorts or a skirt. However warm it was when you set out, the weather can change in minutes. Have a fully-proofed over-garment with you as wind is your biggest enemy, and carry an extra long-sleeved woolen sweater, a woolly cap, and gloves. Always let someone know the route you are taking, and when you expect to come back, and travel in a party.

Pitching your tent
There are so many different kinds of tent on the market now that it is not possible within the scope of this book to give you detailed instructions on how to pitch every type. Below you will find two of the more common varieties.

Pitch your tent as soon as you arrive at your chosen site and have reported to the youth officer or the camp steward; remember that until your tent is up, you have no shelter of your own. Along with rain, wind is the camper's greatest enemy, so whenever possible pitch in the shelter of a hedge, wall, or belt of trees, in the lee of the prevailing wind. If you can't find a sheltered position, then pitch with the tent entrance away from the wind, shorten the guys as much as possible, and make sure that the pegs are long and firmly embedded in the ground.

Always clear the ground before you pitch, making sure there is nothing sharp lying around which could puncture the groundsheet.

The following points apply to the erection of all tents:

1 When the tent is fully erected all poles — apart from the inverted V-poles — should be vertical.

2 Pegs should be pushed well into the ground diagonally at an angle of about 45°, with the point driven in towards the tent.

3 The side-lines of walled ridge tents should always be pegged out and adjusted after the end and corner guys have been tensioned.

4 Corner and side lines of walled tents must be pegged out in a straight line with the roof angle; if the angle is not right, the wall of the tent will either lift off the ground or sag.

5 The sliders on the guys should be placed so that there is room for adjustment, in either direction when the line is pegged out.

6 The tent fabric expands or contracts slightly as the weather changes. Nylon or terylene ropes have enough "give" to allow for this; if you have hemp lines slacken them off when the weather is damp and tighten them up again when it's dry, otherwise the tent will wear near the rings.

When your tent is up, luggage should be stored neatly opposite the tent entrance and the sleeping place organized. Keep a torch within easy reach near the entrance of the tent and leave your food, suitably protected, outside where it will keep fresh. A tent lamp is a useful piece of equipment, but only use it when the tent is closed otherwise it will attract moths and mosquitoes.

Striking the tent
Never pack a wet tent, as it will tend to grow mildew. If you have absolutely no choice, make sure you spread it out to dry as soon as the weather improves.

Never leave rubbish lying around; put it in the bins provided. If there aren't any, take it with you. Tins and bottles must never be left, as they can injure animals. Cut out both ends of tins and flatten them — they take up very little room — and pack them in a polythene bag. Any rubbish that will rot can be buried and well covered.